The Doctor's Master Footie Pajamas to the Rescue
by Amledo
Summary: Bad dreams haunt the Doctor, his failure and his past love haunt him, Amy and Rory bring news from River that changes everything. Doctor/Master.


(A/N: Some more Doctor Who fic from me. This is heavily implied Doctor/Master told from the perspective of 11 and the Ponds. Getting tired of me yet? Naw, didn't think so. I don't own Doctor Who and likely I will never be lucky enough to do so. Anyway, I hope you like and will be kind enough to tell me what needs fixing. And no, the Master being the one the Doctor loves will rarely change in my fics. On with the show!)

The Doctor's Master or, Footie Pajamas to the Rescue

Those eyes, those mad eyes, the eyes that haunted his dreams and plagued his nightmares, he would never be free of them. The Doctor stared down at his hands as he sat up in bed, knees pulled to his chest, back bent in exhaustion and defeat. There were still wet tracks on his face from the tears that had fallen and his eyes were bloodshot, circled by a heavy darkness. His jaw was clenched and he was breathing heavily through his teeth and dammit all tears hadn't gone that far off. Pressing his hands firmly together he closed his eyes and pressed his fists against his forehead.

"Must you linger so? Don't I have enough regrets in my life?" tears spilled past his control and he let them. "No, I suppose you have to be my crowning achievement of failure. Kos…monument to all I've done wrong," he breathed through a throat constricted by the need to sob.

"Doctor? You…okay?" Amy Williams nee Pond stood in his open doorway and he realized that he must have actually been screaming this time 'round.

"I'm fine Amelia. You should get back to sleep. Rory, he will be worried," the Doctor said thickly, his head buried against his knees. He hated when people saw him in a shambles like that. He needed to recover himself and put on the brave face, the silly face to make her smile again.

"He is pretty worried, about you, Doctor," Rory's voice was soft, but he stood firmly at Amy's elbow, his face slightly grim.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep, big day tomorrow you know," standard mantra, safe from scrutiny. He drew a shuddering breath and pressed his head down against his knees as hard as he could. Maybe they would just leave him if he didn't look. He would not talk about this when they woke. He would not grant them access to his private misery. He was the Doctor, pillar of detached strength and intelligence.

"No one who's gone as long without their bloke as you have is fine, Doctor. I should know," Amy said, some of her native accent growing stronger in her concern for her Raggedy Man.

The Doctor's head snapped up, wide-eyed and still brimming with tears he stared at her in shock, mouth agape. That drew a smile from both Ponds as they took a seat on the side of the Doctor's bed. Both of them were in the one-piece footie pajamas that the Time Lord had somehow acquired and gifted to them with a mischievous smile and comments about how cold space could be. Amy wore a tattered pink bathrobe over hers but Rory had gone without.

"Let me guess…River?" the Doctor said after he'd managed to control himself enough to breathe properly.

"Our daughter is quite the wealth of knowledge, though I'm never entirely sure which one of her is going to stop by on any given day. She told me about him, the Master eh, sounds a bit naughty if you ask me. But she also told me I could tell you that your bloke isn't gone. He isn't locked away like you think. She says that you just have to find him. Oh and that I'm not to be angry at you for two-timing her seeing as how…" at that Amy blushed fiercely and the Doctor raised any eyebrow. "She still technically has you," the redhead concluded softly.

"Of course she'd be the one to find him when he'd put himself back tog…" the Doctor's face went momentarily blank as he stopped speaking and then a look of inexplicable joy brought more tears and he was literally throwing himself out of bed and bounding away. Rory stared after him because Amy was still fixed on the point where he had been in the bed. The Ganger getting River was clearly not what he was so excited over.

"Do you think we will get to meet him? In some weird sense, I'm still his Mother-in-law and I feel as though I ought to," Amy said after a pause and Rory just shook his head, resigning himself to being up and several strong cups of tea. He led Amy from the room because she wouldn't otherwise allow herself to be moved. But quite frankly, Rory didn't want to be seen in his footies by the Doctor's long lost lover. The only reason the Doctor seeing him wasn't a bother because the Doctor was still wearing his own.

(A/N: Well what do you think folks? It's a short bit of nonsense but I thought it was fun.)


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